Injection mechanism

ABSTRACT

A piston pump with an adjustable stroke is connected through a one-revolution clutch to a motor-driven shaft to reciprocate through one cycle when a trigger is pressed. One stroke of the pump sends a measured amount of gel through a pair of hollow pointed spouts into objects penetrated by the ends of the spouts.

[4 June 18, 1974 3,276,487 10/1966 Miller et 222/309 X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS INJECTION MECHANISM [76] Inventor: Lewis D. Hartley, 7 Spofford St.,

Newburyport, Mass. 01950 Mar. 31, 1972 31,641 9/1964 Germany........................... 736,739 9/1955 Great Britain......

[22] Filed:

Primary Examiner--Harvey C. Hornsby Assistant Examiner-Alan I. Cantor Appl. No.: 240,158

Attorney, Agent, or FirmMorse, Altman, Oates &

Hello [57] ABSTRACT A piston pump with an adjustable stroke is connected through a one-revolution clutch to a motor-driven ugh one cycle when a trigger [52] US. CL... 99/450.8, 141/329 [51] Int. A2lc 9/06,

[58] Field of Search 99/4507, 450.8, 494, 532' [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS shaft to reciprocate thro is pressed. One stroke of the pump sends a measured 99/450-8 amount of gel through a pair of hollow pointed spouts 99/ 532 into objects penetrated by the ends of the spouts. Masson 99/4508 99/450 8 4 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures 1,898,004 2/1933 Demka et a1. 2,000,262 5/1935 Sutliffe................1.... 2,178,345 10/1939 PAIENTEDJuu 18 m4 saw 1 0r 4 FIG. I I

PATENTED 9 SHEET 3 [if 4 FIG. 4

PATENTEBJIII BH 3.817.165

SHEET u [If 4 1 INJECTION MECHANISM BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a mechanism for quickly and easily injecting into one or more objects measured amounts of a gel. More specifically, the mechanism hereinafter described is designed to inject into two ballshaped doughnuts measured amounts of jelly. The two doughnuts are held in the hands of the operator and are impaled on pointed spouts which penetrate into the interior of the doughnuts. A trigger is then depressed under the operators hands to close a switch for the actuation of a one-revolution clutch, which may be of any desired construction, connecting a piston pump to a shaft which is constantly driven by a motor. The pump is below and in communication with a reservoir which holds a supply of jelly. When the pump is connected to the shaft it reciprocates through a single cycle and stops until the trigger is returned to its normal position ar d is thereafter depressed again. The length of the stroke of the pump piston determines the quantity of jelly discharged through the spouts. A knob is provided on a side of the casing which houses the operating mechanism. The angular position of this knob determines the'length of the stroke of the pump piston and hence the quantity of jelly injected into the doughnuts.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS For a more complete understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the following description of an embodiment thereof, and to the drawing, of which FIG. 1 is an elevational view of the complete machine embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view, on a larger scale, of the housing shown in FIG. l and its contents;

FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view, on a larger scale, of the operating mechanism shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view of the pump; and

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the means for limiting the clutch to a single revolution.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The operating mechanism is enclosed in a rigid housing 10 upon which is a removable member 12 clamped down by a pair of screws 14, one of which is shown in FIG. I. The member 112 is a base for a frusto-conical member 16 on which is a cylindrical pump chamber 18. Removably fitted on the open upper end of the chamber 18 is the outlet of a tank 20 for holding a supply of viscous material such as jelly or the like. From the pump chamber 18 a discharge pipe 22 projects horizontally, two diverging horizontal spouts 24, 26 being joined to the pipe 22 by a screw coupling 28 which facilitates removal and replacement. As indicated in FIG. 1, the spouts 24, 26 are sharply pointed so that ballshaped doughnuts or the like are easily impaled thereon, the hands of the operator holding the doughnuts being directly above a trigger plate 30 which is roackable by manual pressure to move a rod 32 inward against the pressure of a spring 34 which bears against a collar 36 mounted on the rod near an end 38 thereof which projects out through the housing 10 for contact with the trigger plate 30. Inward movement of the rod 32 starts the operation of a one-revolution clutch as hereinafter described.

The pump is shown in FIG. 5. The piston comprises an annulus 46 the periphery of which is embraced by a split ring 42 which bears against the wall of the chamber 11%. The annulus 40 is secured by a diametrical chord 44 to an upstanding tube 46 the upper end of which is secured to the upper end of a vertical piston rod 56. Telescoped between the tube 46 and the rod 50 is a fixed tube 52 which rises from the floor of the pump chamber 16 to prevent any jelly from leaking into the housing 116. An annular valve plate 54 surrounds a bearing ring 56 which slides on the tube 52. The plate 54 is supported by two headed pins 58 which extend up through holes in the chord 44. When the piston rises, jelly from the tank 26 flows past the periphery of the plate 54 in the chamber 118. When the piston descends, the plate 54 is pushed up against the ring 42 so that jelly is forced out through the spouts 24, 26. The amount of jelly discharged by one stroke of the piston depends on the length of the stroke. This is regulated, as hereinafter described, by adjustive turning of a knob 60, (FIG. 3 on the outside of the housing 10.

For operation of the pump an electric motor 62 is mounted in the housing it) and is connected through a worm-and-gear in a gear case 64 to a horizontal shaft 66 which rotates constantly when the motor 62 is operating. For convenience the shaft 66 is shown in FIG. 4 in a vertical position which it assumes when the housing it) is upended for inspection. A plunger 68, which is vertical when in operation, is detachably connected to the pump piston rod 50 by a socket 70 which receives a ball 72 at the lower end of the rod 50, this joint being above the top of the housing 10 to facilitate dismounting of the pump assembly from the housing 10.

Extending down from the plunger 68 and integral therewith is a bar '74 which slides in notches 76 in a fixed frame member 78 which is cylindrical and is coaxial with the shaft 66. The bar 74 has a central slot 80 through which the shaft 66 extends. A fixed pin 82 is mounted on the bar 74 near its lower end. This pin fits loosely in a hole 64 in a peripheral bulge 86 of a ring 66 so that the ring can rock in its own plane through a limited angle as it bears against a face of the bar 74. A disc 96 bears against a face of the ring 88 and has an integral hub 92 which fits within the ring 88 to keep the disc 96 and ring 66 coaxial for limited relative rotation. Another integral hub portion 94 of reduced diameter is on the other face of the disc 90. This hub portion 94 has a diametric channel 96 which is aligned with a diametric slot 96 through the disc 90. The slot 98 is just wide enough to receive the shaft 66 which extends through it. From this other face of the disc a fixed pin 1160 projects and extends through a short slot 102 in a semicircular rack 164 which has gear teeth 106 on a portion of its circular periphery. Concentric with the circular periphery is a hole 108 through which the shaft 66 extends. The pin I00 is long enough to extend beyond the rack I64 and receive a cylindrical roller bearing 116 which rides in a circular channel 111 (FIG. 2) in a face of a cam disc 112, this channel being concentric with the circumference of the disc. Integral with the disc is an eccentrically located hub 126 through which the shaft 66 extends. When the cam disc is connected to the shaft 66 for a single revolution (clockwise as shown in FIG. 4) the pin 1160 is caused to reciprocate in the slot I62. This results in reciprocation of the disc 3 90, the ring 88, the bar 74 and the plunger 68 which is operatively connected to the pump piston.

The length of the stroke of the pump piston depends on the angular position of the rack 104. If for example the slot 102, in which the pin 100 reciprocates when the cam disc 112 rotates one revolution, is aligned with plunger 68, the movements of the pin 100 and the plunger are of equal magnitude and the pump piston is given its maximum stroke. 1f the rack 104 is rotated to a position in which the longitudinal direction of the slot 102 makes an angle with the longitudinal direction of the plunger 68, only a component of the linear movement of the pin 100 is imparted to the plunger 68 so that the pump piston consequently has a shorter stroke. The rack 104 is adjustably turned by a pinion 114 which is secured to a shaft 116. On the other end of this shaft is the knob 60 which is readily accessible on the outside of the housing 10. The pinion 114 is usually locked against rotation by the engagement of a fixed tooth 118 carried by a bracket 120. To disengage the pinion from the locking tooth, the knob 60 is pressed inward to move the pinion 114 axially against the pressure of a spring 122, whereupon the knob can be turned to adjust the angular position of the rack 104.

The one-revolution clutch comprises a hollow cylinder 124 of suitable material such as a synthetic resin into which a hub element 126 on the cam disc 112 extends with clearance between the hub 124 and the inner wall surface of the cylinder 124. A driving disc 128 is secured to the end of the shaft 66 to rotate constantly therewith. This disc has a hub element (not shown) similar to the hub element 126. These two hubs meet within the cylinder 124 and are embraced by a helical spring (not shown) within the clearance between the hubs and the interior surface of the cylinder 124. One end of this spring is attached to the end of the cylinder 124 which bears against the disc 128. The other end of the helical spring is anchored in the cam disc 112. When the machine is being used, the disc 128 rotates constantly (clockwise as shown in F IG. 4) but the cylinder 124 is normally held against rotation by the engagement of a pawl 130 in one or the other of two notches 132, 134 in the periphery of the cylinder 124. At such times the angular relation between the cylinder 124 and the cam disc 112 is such that the helical spring within the cylinder is held stressed so that it does not hug the disc hubs which it surrounds. When the cylinder 124 is released, the spring contracts and hugs the two hubs so that the disc 128 drives the disc 112. When the pawl 130 enters the notch 132 upon the completion of a revolution of the cylinder, a slight additional rotative movement of the cam disc 112 is sufficient to expand the spring so that it no longer binds on the two hubs and the cam disc is no longer driven.

The clutch is operated by pressing the trigger plate 30 so as to move the rod 32 inward. This rocks a bellcrank about the shaft 116. One arm of the bell-crank is the pawl 130; the other arm 138 includes a rod 140 against which the inner end of the rod 32 normally bears, A tension spring 142 is attached to the arm 138 to press the pawl 130 yieldingly against the cylinder 124. The bell-crank is axially movable on the shaft 116 and is pressed against the pinion 114 by a spring 144 which surrounds a portion of the shaft 116 and is somewhat weaker than the spring 122. When the rod 32 is pressed inward to move the pawl clear of the cylinder 124, the cam disc 112 rotates rapidly with the cylinder and, when about half way through its revolution, shifts the bell-crank on the shaft 116 to move the rod clear of the inner end of the rod 32 so that the spring 142 can press the pawl 130 against the cylinder 124 to enter the notch 132 when it comes around. This shifting of the bell-crank is done by an edge cam on the cam disc 112 which engages a friction element 152 on the pawl 130. Thus the pawl cannot be released from the notch 132 until the rod 32 has been retracted to permit the rod 140 to move into its normal position in the path of the rod 32 so as to be shifted again by inward movement of the rod 32.

I claim:

1. An apparatus for injecting jelly or the like into pastry, said apparatus comprising a base housing having bottom, side and top walls defining a chamber, an electric motor and a single revolution clutch mounted on said base housing within said chamber, said electric motor being operatively connected to said single revolution clutch, plunger means extending through said top wall, the lower end of said plunger means being operatively connected to said single revolution clutch for a single reciprocation linearly along the axis of said plunger means in response to a single cycle of said single revolution clutch, a hopper detachably mounted on said top wall, said hopper having an intermediate portion including cylindrical and transverse walls, said cylindrical wall extending along said axis of said plunger means, said transverse wall having an aperture, 21 tubular guide aligned with said aperture in said transverse wall of said hopper and connected to said transverse wall of said hopper, said plunger means extending through said aperture in said hopper and through said tubular guide, a sleeve having upper transverse and cylindrical walls, said upper transverse wall of said sleeve being connected to the upper end of said plunger means, said cylindrical wall of said sleeve receiving said tubular guide, a transverse valve connected to said sleeve, and at least one spout extending from said intermediate portion of said hopper and communicating with the interior thereof.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said spout is positioned between said valve and said transverse wall of said hopper.-

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said plunger means includes a lower plunger rod and an upper plunger rod connected by a ball and socket located below said transverse wall of said hopper and said upper wall of said base housing.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said hopper includes a lower section supporting said intermediate portion and resting on said top wall, and an upper section having an open top for the receipt of jelly or the like and an open bottom communicating with said intermediate portion. 

1. An apparaTus for injecting jelly or the like into pastry, said apparatus comprising a base housing having bottom, side and top walls defining a chamber, an electric motor and a single revolution clutch mounted on said base housing within said chamber, said electric motor being operatively connected to said single revolution clutch, plunger means extending through said top wall, the lower end of said plunger means being operatively connected to said single revolution clutch for a single reciprocation linearly along the axis of said plunger means in response to a single cycle of said single revolution clutch, a hopper detachably mounted on said top wall, said hopper having an intermediate portion including cylindrical and transverse walls, said cylindrical wall extending along said axis of said plunger means, said transverse wall having an aperture, a tubular guide aligned with said aperture in said transverse wall of said hopper and connected to said transverse wall of said hopper, said plunger means extending through said aperture in said hopper and through said tubular guide, a sleeve having upper transverse and cylindrical walls, said upper transverse wall of said sleeve being connected to the upper end of said plunger means, said cylindrical wall of said sleeve receiving said tubular guide, a transverse valve connected to said sleeve, and at least one spout extending from said intermediate portion of said hopper and communicating with the interior thereof.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said spout is positioned between said valve and said transverse wall of said hopper.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said plunger means includes a lower plunger rod and an upper plunger rod connected by a ball and socket located below said transverse wall of said hopper and said upper wall of said base housing.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said hopper includes a lower section supporting said intermediate portion and resting on said top wall, and an upper section having an open top for the receipt of jelly or the like and an open bottom communicating with said intermediate portion. 